<p>For engineering.</p>
<p>Thoughts? I may have to make this decision next year if I am fortunate, and I’m wondering what you’ve got to say.</p>
<p>you can’t just ask that question so bluntly. They are obviously both very good schools, but each is good only for a certain kind of person.</p>
<p>and don’t ask for comparisons to olin until you get in. which is very, very difficult.</p>
<p>Well, I am interested in engineering but not sure what exactly, maybe biological, computer, or electrical. Looking for a school with good academics, professors, research opportunities.</p>
<p>Why can’t I ask for comparisons? I’m sure plenty of people ask for information about schools like Stanford well before they get accepted. I’m just looking to learn more about the schools, in particular how they are similar or different.</p>
<p>Well Olin is free…</p>
<p>Olin is “free” after you pay $18,123 for room, board etc. [Olin</a> College : Admission : Costs and Scholarship Information](<a href=“http://www.olin.edu/admission/costs.asp]Olin”>http://www.olin.edu/admission/costs.asp). And they are actually discussing the possibility of charging about $10,000 tuition fee next year (in essence reducing the scholarship by $10K) although to the best of my knowledge the decision has not been made.</p>
<p>Other than that Olin has a very narrow focus specializing in electrical/mechanical/general engineering. Olin does not offer computer/bio or any other kind of engineering, it’s purely project oriented and has no research to speak of, Olin is still virtually unknown in academic and professional circles.</p>
<p>Assuming that the cost of attending HMC is not significantly different from the cost of attending Olin I would definitely recommend HMC which has everything Olin has to offer plus much much more - it’s bigger, better known, provides better research opportunities and a significant number of engineering and science majors and disciplines not available at Olin.</p>
<p>Thanks denniso. Are you a student at Mud? Just a few questions.</p>
<p>What is your source for the fact that Olin is going to charge tuition next year? I haven’t heard anything to that effect, and I can’t seem to find it.</p>
<p>Correct me if I’m wrong, but I though Olin offered an Engineering with Computing degree and a Biological Engineering degree. Does HMC offer more specialized engineering degrees?</p>
<p>I’ve talked to Olin students who seemed to have done plenty of research. The Olin website seems to indicate plenty of research available, so I’m not sure what you mean by “no research to speak of.”</p>
<p>I am not a student at either Mud or Olin but I researched these two schools a few months ago.</p>
<p>Here is a link to a facebook discussion about the possibility of $10,000 tuition fee next year (in addition to room, board, books, fees etc) - it’s at the very bottom of the page - the last few posts.
[Did</a> you get in? | Facebook](<a href=“Facebook”>Facebook)
The information seems to be coming directly from Dean Nolan and I have no idea whether the decision has been made.</p>
<p>According to the college board and several other similar sources Olin offers majors in<br>
- Electrical/Communications Engineering
- Engineering - General
- Mechanical Engineering
[College</a> Search - Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering - Olin College - Majors](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board)</p>
<p>[Franklin</a> W. Olin College of Engineering Information, Academics, Admissions, Financial Aid, Students, Athletics, Alumni, History, Campus, Students, Faculty, Address, and Tuition](<a href=“USA University College Directory - U.S. University Directory - State Universities and College Rankings”>USA University College Directory - U.S. University Directory - State Universities and College Rankings)</p>
<p>They do have Systems and Bioengineering concentrations within General Engineering, obviously it’s your call whether it’s good enough for you.</p>
<p>PS, obviously you can’t go wrong with either of these two schools. I just happen to think that your career choices and prospects will be somewhat better after HMC.</p>
<p>“which is better” is an emotional trap best avoided. Given the highly competitive nature of college admission, don’t get tied up in “which is best” or “what is my #1 choice.” That just leads to disappointment.</p>
<p>Instead apply to 10 or so college which you could live with. Only when acceptances arrive indulge in the “which is best” discussion. You will save yourself a lot of heart ache!</p>
<p>
IAWTC (10 char)</p>
<p>You guys do know that Olin is effectively an East Coast version of Mudd, right? These are the feelings of the Eng Dept Chair at HMC.</p>
<p>That said, however, the teaching styles do have different flavors and facilities (from what I hear) are spectacular over at Olin. My research advisor will be spending his sabbatical this coming year…</p>
<p>GO TO OLIN!!! I will be attending Olin in the Fall. I do not know much about Harvey Mudd, but Olin is a top top school which has such a self-selectivity of applicants. When I visited there the first time for something called Candidate’s Weekend (if you apply, you will find out about this), I noted that unlike when I visited other top schools such as Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Penn, etc., the students there seemed to be extremely, extremely intelligent. I could sense that these were the smartest people I had ever met. Also, it was extremely apparent that the kids at Olin were all very focused, motivated, and ambitious. All seemed to “dream big”.</p>
<p>Olin is stealing students from MIT, Stanford, CMU, Harvard, Princeton, and other top schools. Every applicant I met at Olin had applied to MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, Caltech, Cornell, and other extremely selective schools. Their first-choice schools seemed to be either MIT, Olin, or Stanford. Also, I have talked to 2 professors at my local state University who had both conducted research recently at MIT. They said that people they knew at MIT were all watching Olin very closely and were extremely excited about the school and also a little wary because Olin was taking many of their applicants who had been offered admission. </p>
<p>Olin’s name seems to be up and coming in both academia and the workforce. Last year they had 6 students go to work at Google and 4 to Microsoft among other top companies. Also, they had many kids go to Stanford, MIT, Cornell and other top schools for science, math and engineering, but also schools such as Yale Law or Harvard Business school. There didn’t seem to be any non Tier 1 schools that the students were planning on attending.</p>
<p>Olin is revolutionizing the way America teaches Engineering with a “do then learn” approach and focuses on producing Engineers who are NOT the stereotypical backroom Engineer, but rather Engineers who will interact and communicate with clients and the community and who will become future leaders of innovation in the scientific/technological fields and will work to benefit society. Also, they have a very entrepreneurial spirit and work to help and encourage their students and graduates to start a company and to patent their ideas. Many Olin students join or found a tech startup during or immediately after graduating. And I think something like 10% of my entering class has founded a technological company in high school. One girl is even ranked 30-something for reciting digits of pi!</p>
<p>Expanding on the entrepreneurial side of Olin (something that really attracted me to Olin), Olin has a partnership with Babson College (and also with Wellesley and Brandeis), the top business college in the US for entrepreneurship, in which you cross-register with them and are allowed to take any of their classes and use many of their resources. Many Olin and Babson students freqently work together for classes and entrepreneurial ventures.</p>
<p>There are many other great things about Olin, but my post is already huge. If you would like to know more or have any questions, PM me!</p>
<p>I go to HMC, but I know quite a few people at Olin and would have applied there if I hadn’t ED’d to HMC. As I see it, the big differences are
- Olin is tuition-free, of course.
- HMC offers a much wider selection of courses, partly because of the 5Cs. Likewise for clubs and sports.
- Olin has more of an industrial bent, while HMC academics tends to be more theoretical and breadth-oriented.
- Olin has very snazzy modern buildings, not to mention better food.
- HMC is in California… :-)</p>
<p>But I agree that the schools have a lot in common – the sizes are comparable (Olin is smaller), name recognition is comparable, both have very self-selecting applicant pools, etc.</p>
<p>I’m now an international prefrosh at Mudd. I considered Olin heavily but:
- I wanted to do Chemistry not Engineering
- Olin doesn’t offer FA for room and board for international students
- HMC actually has a pretty good reputation among university faculty and the national research body here, Olin is really unheard of</p>
<p>I agree with you fiona that Olin is not very well known currently. However, its name is up and coming rapidly in both academia and industry.</p>
<p>I also looked very hard at Olin and Harvey Mudd when I was applying to colleges a year and a half ago. But first, a word of caution. After a year of going to Harvey Mudd and talking with several of my friends that go the Ivies, the general consensus is that the only major factor that influences how well you do in life is yourself. You can get research at any school. You can get a world-class education at any school you choose.</p>
<p>That said, HMC, Olin and other “top schools” essentially <em>force</em> you into excellence. At Olin, <em>everyone</em> MUST participate in a hardcore project-based environment. At HMC, you are <em>required</em> to delve into mathematical theory and proofs even if you have not the slightest intention of majoring in math. By the time you’re done, all of the these top schools will guarantee that you have the skills to succeed.</p>
<p>However, the other way to guarantee this is to have the self-motivation and will to succeed. At University of Colorado at Boulder, for example, you could cruise through the easy courses and graduate as a run-of-the-mill student. Or, you could push yourself to go the extra mile and receive an excellent education. In the eyes of grad school, it doesn’t make any difference at all. You have been warned.</p>
<p>As for Mudd “vs” Olin, it’s really does come down to personal preference. That probably doesn’t make sense right now, but a year from now you’ll all understand why it really doesn’t matter that much. For now, though, nrg91720 has posted a very, very long list (albeit not objective) of reasons to go to Olin. Just keep in mind that a very similar admissions-propaganda-sounding list could be fabricated for Mudd as well. Just be cautious when separating what’s admissions’ opinion and what’s fact.</p>
<p>Be very wary if you’re not set on engineering. If you decide that engineering isn’t that cool after all, frankly you’re screwed if you’re at Olin. At Mudd, though, you still have other technical majors to fall back to. The ultimate insurance policy, however, is to go to an aforementioned state school and have every major at your disposal :)</p>